St. Louis Fed sues McCarthy for ‘defective’ windows

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is suing McCarthy Building Cos. and three subcontractors, alleging the companies installed defective windows on the bank’s headquarters in downtown St. Louis in 2008.

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis claims at least 498 windows spread throughout the first six floors of the building were affected, according to documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The Fed estimates it will cost more than $1.5 million to replace the windows, according to the filing.

The Fed and McCarthy, which had been hired to provide construction management for renovations and an addition at the St. Louis Fed’s headquarters, have been discussing how to resolve the matter for two years, according to the lawsuit.

Also named as defendants in the lawsuit are Univercity City-based window manufacturer Winco Window Co.; Hilboldt Curtainwall Inc. of St. Louis, which designs exterior wall enclosures; and Architectural Glass Products, a Miramar, Fla.-based subsidiary of Winco.

The windows were installed over a nine-month period in 2008, according to the complaint. An inspection later revealed that a significant percentage of the windows installed had begun to delaminate along the edges, according to court documents.

An “expert window consultant” hired by the bank reported the windows did not meet industry standards and were defective, the complaint states. That expert also said total replacement was the only reasonable remedy, according to the lawsuit filing.

McCarthy officials declined to answer questions about the lawsuit but released a statement attributed to Scott Wittkop, president of McCarthy’s central division: “We are continuing to work with both the Federal Reserve and other parties and hope we can resolve this matter in a timely manner.”

St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Cos. Inc., a subsidiary of McCarthy Holdings Inc., is the largest commercial builder in the area. McCarthy Holdings reported revenue of $3 billion in 2012.